The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery starting selling dreams for the benefit of the state's college students back in 2009.
Since then, players have collected almost $2 billion in prize money. Arkansas students have received more that $573 million in scholarship dollars and retailers who sell the tickets have taken in more than $162 million in commissions for themselves.
That means Arkansas residents and visitors to the state have spent a lot of money on the various lottery games over the years-in some cases money they could ill afford.
Because while people in every income bracket play the lottery, these relatively inexpensive gambles are especially attractive to low-income folks. For a dollar or two they have the chance to win big.
The vast majority never hit it big of course. And many who win small sums plow their bounty right back into more tickets.
But there are winners. And in a few cases those winners do some good with the money.
Whether they like it or not.
You see, before a winner collects any sizable amount from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, officials check to see if the lucky individual owes child support.
And if so, the money is taken directly from the winnings before any payout is made.
Apparently it happens fairly often. According to a press release this week from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, nearly $50,000 in back child support was collected from winners in March alone.
We haven't been supporters of gambling in Arkansas in the past and we aren't big on it now. The fact is people who owe child support already have enough outlets to fritter away money their children need. The lottery gives them one more temptation. It's truly deplorable that anyone would put something like gambling or other vices before their own kids.
But we do commend the state for seizing any child support owed before paying off a delinquent player.